The ever-expanding bandwidth for internet services increases online users' continued desire to receive more and richer content from online or web providers. Video data and graphically oriented content can now stream or transmit faster to a user's client device. Furthermore, the users have also become savvier in customizing how they receive content over the internet or other networks. For example, online users, through their computer, game console, online television box or the like, typically may register to establish a portal-like online environment where their favorite news source, local weather, movie show times, electronic mail (e-mail) notifications, or the like are received. These data aggregation portals or web services typically offer a homepage summary view where the user can go to see his/her selected set of services. With this homepage, the user can get a “summary” of communications, news and other services in one place and within a predefined display configuration.
For example, FIG. 1 illustrates a typical configuration of an online environment using a homepage 100. For example, the homepage 100 typically has a background color 102 covering the entire homepage 100. The homepage 100 also includes one or more modules or application widgets that provide services to the user. These modules or application widgets are holders for particular content for the user. For example, a weather module 104 may provide three-day forecast weather information for the user for a given location. The user may have an option to select one or more locations. An e-mail module 106 may also provide a short and brief listing of the user's e-mail messages in the user's inbox. A news source module 108 may include one or more news headlines from a user's favorite news sources. A horoscope module 110 may provide horoscope information for a selected zodiac. The service providers typically also enable dynamic updates or renderings of these modules.
Currently, this homepage online environment is preferred over other rich user experience methods because of its quick loading performance. However, such model's shortcomings and problems include leaving the texts of modules becoming static when the dynamic connection of the network/services is lost. Furthermore, the homepage typically becomes a collection of information where management of the information is overwhelming. In addition, the modules and the homepage are text-based or text-oriented. Furthermore, user customization of the homepage is limited to the selection of the background color, the relative position of the modules, the amount of content (e.g., 5 or 7 headlines for a given news source), and the number of modules a user may select. Hence, the homepage presents a flat, two dimensional and unanimated interfaces.